Page 227 - Malay sketches

XVIII

WITH A CASTING-NET

Where fountains of sweet water run
between,
And sun and shadow chequer-chased
the green
JiMI

is one of the largest and most populous
PERAK the States of the Malay Peninsula, it is
of
the one where probably the rulers can claim the
clearest genealogy and the longest recorded descent,
and it is unquestionably here that all ancient rites
and customs have been most carefully preserved.
Whilst it was to Perak that the first British
Resident was appointed, and this State is now the
most wealthy, advanced, and prosperous of all those
under British influence, the Malays still maintain
their traditions and observe their honoured customs
as though railways and steamers, education and
sanitation had no more part in their lives than
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